Railway switching and signaling apparatus.



PATENTED 001'. 2, 1906'.

W. KLHOWE.

RAILWAY SWITCHING AND SIGNALING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1905.

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No. 832,192. r

I W. K.HOWE. RAILWAY swrrcnme AND SIGNALING APPARATUS APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1905.

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' 4-5 Therail-switch points 1 are connected and vide means whereby the signal circuit or cirnal circuit or circuits'if the switch-points are apparatus shown in the accompanying draw 35 ric view of my switch-Box,- parts beingiomitmotion-plate byengagement, eta s urgear 4 .-.5 v to the motioneplate 3. as isv a swi c -re t r Po nt 1-5. i-iPiv ted ojt i rod "of the switch mechanism, Fig. 3 is a-'-secti on UNITED STATES PATENT, @FFTCE.

, RAILWAY SWITCHING AND SIGNALING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

?a.tented oer. a, race.

Application filed August 29, 1905 Serial No. 276,290.

1'0 aZl' whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, WINTHROP K. Hows, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railway Switching and Signaling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railway switching and signaling apparatus, and more particularly relates to that class of railway switching and signaling apparatus employing electricity for. the motive power, although it may he used with equal facility with other forms of energy for the motive power.

The chief object of my invention is to procuits are not completed until after the switchpoints are moved to their proper position and locked and means for breaking said sigeither moved from their proper positionor unlocked. .Thus a switchis trailed by a train a signal cannot be givenba'ck over that switch until the'tro ubleis remedied, and, further, if. the slot in the; lock-rod through which the lock-bolt enters shouldbecome elongated, so that the lock-bolt. jooul'd'hnter or pass through. the lock-rod .withut 'the..swit'chpoint being in its proper positiomthe signal-' circuits governing such-switch would not be closed. n To this end my invention consists of theings, diagrammatic in character, in which like characters ofreference indicate similar parts throughout'the.severalyiews; f Figure 1 is-a plan of a rail-switch equipped. with my invention, Fig. 2 is a side elevation on the line a: a: of Fig.- 1. 1 I Fig. 4 is an isometted to properly show the-construction. 5 is a detailside elevation'of'mylockingplate. Fig.6 is a diagram of'circuits'.

moved to establish the route in the usiiat manner by amoto'r 2', which reciprocates' a1.:

orthe motor-.2 with a rack' 'reciprocatorymovement of the motion-plate :lies in the path of thelugs and 3i, which are rigidly secured to the motion-plate 3. It I the diagram of Fig. 6

is aswitch-box 32, This may be an apparafully home.

' plate 3 through the'roller 8 in the slot 9,th e

bar 7, and the switch-rod 6 the switoh-points 1 1 are moved from one position to the other.

10 is a lock--rod connected ,to the switchpoints and connected to the locking-plate 11. This plate 11 passes through guides and moves with the switch-points in the usual,

manner. The plate 11 has a notch 11', (see Fig. 5,) in. which lock-bolts 18 and 19 are calock-bolts 18 and 19 are offset on the motionplate 3, so that one of the bolts will register with the notch 11" when the switch-points are in one position and so that the other bolt will register with said notch when the switchpoints are in the other position.

27 is a pole-changing switch of the. usual type, which serves to reverse the current in t e armature of the motor 2 to produce the .3. 1 This pole-changing switch is operated by a rod 28 pivoted to it and mounted in any suitable manner by the side of the motionplate 3. The rod 28 carries a lug29, which is evident that the lug 31,-.engaging' the lug 29, will-move the switch27- to send the cu r rent through the'armature of the motor 2 in the lug 29,]will' reverse the current in. the armature of .themotor, as clearly indicated in Situated adgacent to the switchrpoints 1 tus for-performing the ordinary function-of opening andv closing the signal-circuits, or it n; i ay.be also a selector, as I have shown in the "will .be understood by one skilled-'ni-the artj'that having a switch-box of the construction shown in the drawings it "maybe operated as a selector in addition to the functionoi-anfordinary switch or merely as an ordinary'switch'torzopening the signal- O h'e switch-points arenot circuit heaev 33 is a'contacteharwhichis capable of mak ing the necessary I electrical; connectionsbetweenithe set of oontactsj34 in .one' position 5 and "of making :the necessary electrical con- "motions-betweenthesetofcontacts 35in the i I otherposition. ffThisicontact-har'fiii 1 has its I ds '--bentat1 ight'angles,and thoseendsare 1' 5 to theyyoke 36', which in turn is iv+- fr r clogs; secured t'ogthebase' of the can ,Uponone'end of this yoke'iifiisay shaped1ug pahle' of entering for locking the switch,' The 1 8 one direction and that the lug-30, engaging i; oi the contact-bar 33 connectei'l to plate 39, mil to it rolh. 1H), which lies ie motion-plate 3. The manis 'ia l-bar is moved will Fivoted to 1' and 4.13. These irioned that when in the positions will engage o6 upwardly 23 into contact and when the position for the roll r "l5 will 1; "age the h1g3? *erdl and force the into (.PfliIt-(d with. the set of in bar 32% having been moved e, is l'li iill 'lt S a signal d position only l for the main wed to the proswitch-points he drawing-a the mili l; and tie sig-- i lssume lch l'or the are bridged and cur .20 through wires 2% wire 26, arm 26 of minute re of motor iger 27, wire lo, l7 burl; to Ii-d to he mo- I par 4 and ioovc (to ihe right in f) slot +l-l in the motionli an incline in the slot 23f} oi electrical so; oi i-onlui'ts its. The 3% will durin; this (he notoli ll in I that the switch-- ed to reverse the railmn'ipletcd, the

noper to? the movement of tl'ie ri-,il-:-; th signal-circuit has l; on l l Hfit d'l i 1-1,:md the signal tilt the locking noted that dur cm the roller part of the slot 9 the functions of unlocking the rail-switch and breaking the signal-cincuit have been performed. With. the third part of the movement the rail swit-e'h is moved because the middle inclined portion of the slot- 9 has come into conta i .z-ith the roller 8. During this movement the contactbar 33 has remained at rest and out of electrical connection with. either set of contacts because the roller. 40 has been engaged by the middle straight portion of the s ot ll, while at the same time the bolt 19 on the bar 14. has approached the bar 11, ready for loci-z at the next movement. The third moven'ient, just d escri bed, is completed when the straight portion of the slot 9 engages the roller 8. At that time motion-plate 3 carries the bolt 19, so that it enters the notch in the bar ll. and locks the rail-switch. At the same time the roller 4.0 is engaged by the second incline in the slot 41, and the contact-her is moved to make electrical connectiim with the contacts 33. It will be noted that the switohamints having been fully reversed the rod 42 has moved the plat so that the roller en.-

gaged the V-slu'i'ped lug 37 on the yoke 36,

and thus lifts the contact-bar 33 into electrical connection with the contact-points 35. At the close of this last-mentioned move-- ment the motor is driven with power applied and without load, thus acquiring U'lUlllOllLlHll. for indication until th lug on tho motionplate 3 strikes the lug; 29 on the rod 23 and breaks the battery-circuit at the pole-changing switch 27 and in a moment establishes the indication-circuit by the completion of the throw of the pole-changing switch. The energy required to produce the iin'lication will bring the motor to rest at the time the roller 8 will have iii-oily reached the end of the slot ll.

in order that the operation of my switchbox as a signal-selector may be clearly understood, assume the movement above described to have been completed and that it is desired to move the signal S to the proceed position. The box 2;. has already been mow-d to bridge the contacts b the switch movement. The operator then bridges the contacts 23 of the Slgllithiifil'liTOh ler and sends current From battery 20 through wires 2-1 46, bridge of contacts 23,

wircs' l? 54, bar a3, bridging contacts 35,

wire 5' operaiing n'icrhanism of signal 3, wires 5.? 51, and common 17 back to lmtter tluis moving the signal S to the proceed p tion. it, on the other hand, the rail-switch w :rc set for the main track, the bar 313 would bridge the contacts 34 and the signal S would go to stop and could not be cleared; but on closing the signal circuit at the oontroller current would pass through wire 49 to the opera ting mechanism of signal S and thence through wires 50 El, andcommon. hack to battery, moving 5 to the proceed. oosition.

scarce 'D. Taylor, as follows: No. 516,903, March 20,

1894; No. 554,097, February 4, 1896; No. 605,359, June 7, 1898, reissued No, 11,983, May 6,1902. U

It is evident from the description of the movement of the rail switch that the signalcircuit is not closed until the rod 42 has forced either the roller 44 or 45 against the lug 37 on the yoke 36 and that this can take place only when the points of the rail-switch have been brought to their proper position and locked. Suppose the switch to have been properly moved and that the switch has been trailed. A bent switch-point is the result. This inevitably moves the bar 42, so that the roller in contact with the lug 37 is moved away, the yoke 35 lowers of its own weight, and the contact-bar o3 breaks electrical connection between the contacts 3% and 35, as the case may be, and the signal goes to danger, if not already in that position, and it cannot be moved to clear. This feature of my invention is of the greatest importance, since hitherto it has not been possible to prevent in all cases the evils arising from bent or trailed switches.

Hating thus described my invention and itsniethod of operation, What I claim is 1. The combination with a switch-operating mechanism, switchoints and signalin circuits of means for coking said switchpoints, means for making said si naling-cir:

cuits only after said switch-points are moved to their proper positions and locked and means for breaking said signalingcii'ci1its if said switch-points are either moved from their proper positions or unlociied.

The combination with a sWitch-operat ing mechanism, switch-points and signaling,- circuits, of a lock-rod reciorocated by switch-points and a lock-bolt reciprocated by said switch-operating mechanism, an electric sivitch, a rod reciprocated by said switchpoints, and means actuated by said last-mentioned rod for closing said electric switch when the switch-points are in their proper motor and mechanism for moving said s *itchpoints of an electric switch, means for controlling said electric switch by mechanism operated by said motor and independen,

'meansfor controlling; said electric switch by mechanism operated the movements of said switch: points.

4. The combination with switclrpoints, a mo tor and mechanism for moving said switchpoints, an. electric switch and means for controlling said electric switch by mechanism operated by said motor, a plurality of signals and signal-circuits and a iurality of cont acts on said electric switch, it hereby one or more signahcircnits are made capable of being established said electric switch when the switchpoints are in one position and one or more signal-circuits mad c pahle oibeing established when said switch-points are in reverse position.

5. The combination. with switchepoint a motor and mechanismfor moving 'd switch-ooints, an electric switch, means for control ring said electric switch by mechanism operated by said motor, a plurality of signals and signahcircuits and a plurality of con tacts on said electric switch for selecting one or more of said signals when the switchpoints in one position and one or more signals when he switch-points are in the other position, and independent means for establishing or disestahlishing the signal-circuits operated by the movement of said switchpoints,

6 In combination with the switch-points of a rail-switch and mechanism for moving the some, switch-box, a plurality oisignals, and of signal-circuits canable of being established through said switch-box, means for selecting between. said circuits through switch-box through switch movement, means for finally establishing or tablishing signal-circuits governed by the position of he switclepoints.

in testimony Wf i have hereunto my hand in the p Wit" Nitnesses ll. L. Uoocsorr, J1 War as. 

